Steam-trap.



No. 816,474. PATENTED MAR. 27, 1906. W. S. JOHNSON.

STEAM TRAP. APELIGATIUN FILED PEB.17.1905.

2 SHEETS-SEBBT l.

MM l QM.

PATENTE@ MAR. 27, NOG.V W. S. JOHNSON.

STEAM TRAP. APPLICATION FILED PBB.17.1905.

2 sEBETs-SHEET 2.

w... .m @GWW sented the trap as vtion wherebyY air is VARREN Application led February l?,

To /JIZZ Ma/ont t may conceive/s v Be it known that ifWAnni-:N S. Jonsson, a citizen oiA the UnitedStates, residing at Milwaukee, in 'the county oi Milwaulrie and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Stean Traps, oi which the following is a speciiication.

Mv invention pertains to that class oi steamtraps in which the operation oi the outlet-valve is controlled by a therrnostatic device. A

The invention consists in a novel construcexhausted from charnber having a movable Wall te which the outlet-valve is connected, so that when the therrnostatio device opens the erhanst-passage of said chan'iber the pressure of the atmosphere upon said wail will move it and open the valve. The construction thus briefly' outlined and to be hereinafter explained in detail insures prompt and reliable action with aderA rate power to open the valve to an;T extent desired, the therznostatic de rice having no er flut): to A' natelyv to open and eloa suetioa or exhaust pipe the chamber 1' o.

The aceoinpanying drawings improved paratus,

though l (lo not restrict in seh to l ticular ai ,i the invent. on or to the speci n shown, the de-v tails being susceptible oi conside il variation within the scope and spirit oi rnv invention.

Figure l is a view, essentially matic,-showing my trap in connection with a twoipe steam-heating sjystem, having an eXiaust-pump, Fig. 2, similar view showing the trap applied to a one-pipe steam-heating system with a jet-exhauster, Fig. 3, a vertical central sectional View oi the valve on a materiallyv larger scale; `Fig. 4, 4an elevation, mainly in section, illustrating a inodied Vlori'n of the device; Figs. 5 and 6, transverse sections on the lines 5 5 and 6 6 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 7 a detail view of a modification.

Both in Fig. i and in Fig.

grain- 2 l have repre` used in connection with an enhaust device serving, primarily, to exhaust the airhom the radiator to which the tran is e ppi d, the exhauster being thereby made to the additional purpose of opening the valve oi' the trap. lt is to be Linden l laters Yat-ent.

1905. Serial No, 246,054.

atented March 2'?, 1906.

stood, however, that the exhaust device. ma y he used solelyr to actuate the air-valve, though l prefer the combination and arrangement shown.

radiator when the latter has cooled down and the-steam has condensed therein but cornniunication between the radiator and the eX- hauster is ordinarili7 cut oil when the steam or other heating medium iills the radiator. A. heating plant equipped with such exhaust ing 'means lends itself peculiarly well to the convenient and economical use of a trapl suoh as here described, and the trap in turn iacili es the prompt and certv 'n removal oi water or liquid due to condensation of steam or other heating agent, the two thus contribut- 'inf to render the plant as a whole very ellie drawings, and iirst to Fig. tailler steam generator ei anyr type; B, pipe opening l radiator' with out of. the steam device; (i,

which the pipe B connects, l), valve controlling the delivery oi steam to the radiator and iE, a return or discharge pipe by which Water, due to condensation of the steam, is carried from the radiator. Valve E is here represented as an ordinary hand-oper ated valve, but may be a motor-valve ccntrolled by thermostat, as in any of the well- 1Known automatic temperature-regulating systems in common use. But one radiator is shown; but any desired number will of course be employed. F indicates my ime proved trap, which is applied between the radiator C and the return-pipe E. The return-pipe E is in this view, Fig. i, represented as connecting with the intake or' .the air-cylinder of an exhaaistpun1p G, the delivery pipe and steanifexhaust pipe of which deliver into a feed-water well H. 'From this well the water is or may he returned to the boiler A by a pump l. A

in Fig. 2 the boiler A, steani-pipe B, radiator C, valve D, Well il, and pump l are shown as in Fig l, 1ont the steam-trap F is IOC shown near the top of the radiator, connected with the usual air valve or vent, and :instead of the discharge-pipe E having its lower end ,connect with a pump it is carried into a pipe Jfashioned into or furnished Vwith a nozzle (1 centrally placed within pipe J, and as a consequence the rapid passage of steam or other Huid through pipe J and about the nozzle e causes air' to be drawn downward through the pipe E Referring now to Fig. 3, the construction of the steam-trap F will be explained. K indicates a valve shell or casing having two threaded necks c and d to receive, respectively, the short pipe or nipple e, by which it is connected with the radiator and the end of pipe E or E". Within the shell is formed a diaphragm f, provided with a circular passage or opening, the wall of which is beveled to form a valve-seat. L indicates a cap or Cover for the casing K, terminating in a neck which is externally threaded to receive a yoke orfrarne M and a. cap-nut or gland N, which latter serves to retain in place and press down a Jfollower g, by which is cornpressed t'he wicking or other packing h, placed within the recessed upper end of the neck. The packing serves to form an air and steam tight joint around a tube O, of iron or other material, having a relatively low coefficient of ex ansion and contract-ion and carrying at its ower end avalve-plug i, adapted to it the valve-seat in diaphragm f and to close the passage therein. Tube C is movable through the stuffing-box in the valvecap and terminates in a cap-piece P, preferably screwed upon the upper end of the tube. The cap-piece isbored out for a considerable portion ol its length to form, in etl'ect, a continuation of tube O, and its uIpper portion has an axial erforation j of sma ler diameter, around the ower end of which is formed an annular valve-seat The cap-piece P is also formed with a horizontal flange or circular plate l and above this is exteriorly threaded to receive a nut m. Encircling the portion of cap-piece above the flange or plate l, resting upon said flan e and clamped between the same and a meta late n, is a sheet Q, of leather, rubber, or ot er flexible material, impervious to air, the parts being clamped together by thc nut m, as shovm. R indi- Cates a dome-shaped shell or casing, carried by the yoke or frame M and preferably of circular form. To the lower face of the shell R and between it and a clamping-ring S is secured the circular edge of the flexible sheet Q, which is thus made to serve as a movable lower wall to the chamber of shell R. i T indicates a rod of metal or other material, having a relatively high coefficient or" expansion and contraction as compared with the tube O, so that when subjected to the same or approximately the rsame increase in temperature said rod will elongate more rapidly than the tube O. The lower end of the rod T is stepped in a screw-threaded block U, which is screwed into the lower end of the valve-plug t, the

screw-threaded block and the valve-plug having a common airis. Block U has a nick or groove in its lower end to receive the blade or bit ot a screw-driver by which it may be turned-in or out to adjust the block and the rod T, carried by it, so that the upper end of said rod shall be nearer to or farther from the valve-seat ic, The diameter of rod T is enough less than the internal diameter of tube O to afford a clear passage-way for the travel ot air between them, and the valveplug i is provided with passages 0, opening from the lower end of the valve into the s ace between the interior of the tube O an the rod T. A passa e may, however, be made through the bloei U, provided only it open at the lower end. of the valve-plu@r and within the area of the opening in the iaphragm f. Fig. 7 shows the block U with such passageway through it. The shell or casing R is formed with an upwardly-extending neck or boss, into which is threaded a tubular extension V, to which is applied a cap-nut W, formed with a downwardly extending centrally-arranged stem-p. This stem is turmoil or furnished with fin-enlargement X, serving as an abutment or hearing for one end of the 'spring Y, the upper end of which bears against the abutment and the lower end of which encircles the upper end of cap-piece l and bears upon the nut m thereof, as plainly seen in Fig. 3. The abutment X may be a fixture upon the stem, but will preferablybe in the form of a nut adjustable upon the stem in any convenient waygas, for instance, by threading the two parts and screwing one upon the other. user to vary the compression ofthe s ring Y as desired, the purpose of the spring eing to press down the cap-piece P, the rod O, and the valve-plug fi. The abutment X will be constructed to permitvpassage of air from one to the other side of it, a perforation being show n in Fig. 3 for that purpose. The capnut W is provided with an air-inlet g, controlled by a conical-pointed screwlug r,

.nicked or slotted to receive the bit or b ade of a screw-driver, so that the plug may be Such adjustment Will enable the-- ICO turned to vary the capacity of the inlet g as desired. 1n practice it will be adjusted so that the area of the inlet shall be appreciablyl less than that of the passage j in the cappiece P. These )roportions may be fixed, in which. case t e screw -plug r may be omitted; but it is deemed better to provide for adjustment in order that the necessity for extreme accuracy in drilling or producing passages may be avoided and that the relation may be established and varied -according to requirements.

The device being constructed as above set forth, its operation is follows: Assuming that the radiator should become filled with steam or other heating' medium, the rod T lwould be expanded by the heat thereoiC and trl would close the passage j by seating against the valve-seat 7c. Hence no air could be drawn by the exhauster through the tube O or from the chamber in the dome-shaped shell or casing i As airis admitted through the inlet g and the flexible diaphragm or wall Q is del pressed by the-pressure of spring Y upon the cap-piece P, said parts, and with them the valve-plug t', arepressed down so that the valve seats and closes the outlet from the valve shell or casing into the pipe E. It' at any' time the steam be shut ofi with valveplugi seated, the radiator will gradually cool, the steam will condense and form water, which will accumulate in the base of the ra diator and in the valvefshell K, and will cause 'the tube O and rod -T both to contract; but owing to the higher ratio or coefhcient of ex ahsion and contraction ol' the rod T it wi l shorten more than the tube O, and hence its upper end will be ,withdrawn `from the valve-seat thus opening passage j. The valveplug being at this time u on its seat, 'lie entire torce of the suction wi l be applied to drawin air through the passage y' and between ro ,i T and the interior of tube O. Thus air will be withdrawn from the interior space or. chamber of the dome-shaped shell or casing lt and will produce a more or less l y vacuum therein, accordl ig to i, torce ci the. suction and the rela pacities o? y and g. jrs the gis purpose made very small, suhir i. i f

to permit ci ruction ol the vac1 the device remains for some time suction, the air will be almost i hausted fr the chamber oi said i casing R. .fis a consequence of the absence of pressure on theuppcr side ol' the flexible wall or diaphragm Q and the lull pressure of the atmosphere on the lower and extended Surface thereof, said wall or diaphragm will e, forced upward with a pressure of many pounds, .insuring the prompt and adequate movement of the valve-plug i from its seat and the full opening ol the outlet-passage. The water accumulated within the base of the radiator will then llow freely into pipe E, a-idedbythe suction in said pi ie, and this -outilow will cbntinue as longas t 1ere is either water or aircontained within the radiator, the downilow ot' the Water around the valve-- plug t' itself tending to produce a downward iiow of air through the tube O. When the water and air are both drawn from the radiator and steam or other heating medium en ters and lills the same, the increase/in temperature reduced by the heating agent will cause biota the tube O and the rod T to expand, but said rod T expanding more rapidly than tube O its upper end will speedily seat itself against the valve-seat le and close the passage j,`thus preventing any further withdrawal of air lrom the shell or casing R. As, however, the passage g remains open, air will nd its way into the shell or chamber above the flexible wall or diaphragm Q, so that the atmosphere will press equally on both faces thereof and the spring Y will be free to force down the llexible wall and the valvesplug connected and moving with it. In this way the valve will be closed whenever the air has been withdrawnrom the radiator and steam or other heating medium has been drawn in to take its place. The stem p serves or may serve as a stop to limit the rise of the flexible wall and parts carried'by it.

The thermostat may obviously be located elsewhere than in the valvestem-as, for instance, in the outlet or discharge pipe. Such an arrangement is illustrated 'in Fig. 4, in which corres onding parts are designated as in Fig. 3. iistead, however, of placing the thermostat within the valve rod or stem a solid rod O is employed to carry the valveplug i, and an independent air-pipe O2 is carried from the shell or casing R oown to the outleti e E, where it connects with a nipple s, extending inward toward the center of said pipe.y The thermostat in this case consists, preferably, of a bimetallic bai" or strip P', made last to the interior of the pipe lil at one end and having its other or free end arranged to lie against and close the mouth of the nipple s when the temperature rises and to move away therefrom as the tem erature falls. rllhis action is due to 'the we l-lmown bending of a bar composed of two meta-ls et f uieqiial coeilicients of expansion and con action, the more expansible metal respondg more quickly and strongly to changes of av inperature than the less eXpansible one. in the example represented the steel side would therefore be next the nipple and the rass side away therefrom. Hence upon the elevation ot temperature the'bimetallie bar P would swing to and bear against the mouth of the nipple, and on a lowering or' the temperature it would swing away from and open the nipple. The action of the apparatus thus constructed is precisely the same as that of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3- that is to say, when the radiator is full of steam. and the outlet-passage into pipe E is open thermostatic bar P will close the nipple s, and hence the air will not be exhausted from the space or chamber above the flexible wall or diaphragm Q. l/Vhen, however, the heating medium is cut ofi and the radiator cools, bar P will swing away from and open l the nipple s, and the suction downward through pipe will cause air to be exhausted- I from the/space or chamber above the dier phragm Q through pipe 0,2, thus-creating a ,E vacuum more or less nearly perfect above IOO vca acity of apparat commonly thi; being found to bdssuicient for alla.,

the Wall or diaphragm Q and causing the saine to be forced upward b the pressure oi the atmos here beneath. in turn will cause the ifting of valvelugi. and the outflow of the water, and tige suction will become eective to remove air from within the radiator and induce. an inflow of steam thereint'o. This is but one of numerous variations oi which the invention is susceptible.

It will be observed from the foregoing description that this apparatus is constructedL and arranged to permit the escape of Water of condensation, and that it is well adapted.

to use wherever water accumulates through such condensation in a chamber containing steam under considerable pressure, ber-at While allowingthe water to pass ofl' freely t v valve is promptly closed when through discharge oi the Water the steam is perrfntted. to come into contact with the thermostatic device. it is thus rendered practically impossible for water to accumulate in any considerable'quantity in a steam radiator, tra or the like provided with this valve andp exhaust mechanism, because as soon as the vlve seats and the water accumulates the t ermostati'c bar contracts. and opens passa e j, th'us connecting the exhaust with the va ve-retracting motor.

The utilization of suction apparatus already present and Aprovided for other pui'- poses renders unnecessary the provision of other and special suction-pipes or suction apparatus, and since the suction required. is small it is found unnecessary to increase the provided,

oth purposes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is l. In combination with a steam-trap having an outlet provided with a valve-seat, a chamber having a movable wall exposed on one side to the atmos here; a valve-plug connected tovand movable with said wall and ada ted and arranged normally to close said out et; and a suction device connected with the interior of said chamber and serving to vwithdraw the air therefrom and thereby to unseat the valve, substantially as described.

2. In a steam-trap, the combination of a valve shell or casing provided with an outlet having a valve-seat; a valve-pinoF adapted and arranged normallyto close said outlet "a hollow shell or casing provided with a movable Wall having one face exposed to the external atmosphere; a connection between said movable wall and the valve-plug a suction device communicating with the interior of the shellor casin and serving to withdraw air therefrom; an a thermostatic device controlling communication between the suction device and said shell or casing, substantially as described.

l creare 3. ln combination with a valve shell or casing provided with an outlet-opening having c ing with the valve-casing pn the delive side of said opening; a valve-plug adapte and arranged normally to close said o ening; a motor shell or4 casing provided wit a movable wall or member exposed on one side to the external atmosphere; a pipe or tube lconvalve-seatJ a suction-pipe communicatnecting the interior of the motor shell or'cas- .ing with the suction-pipe; and a thermostatic device applied to said pipe or tube and serving to cut oi all communication between the valve-chamber and the motor-chamber when the temperature rises, and to open the same when the temperature falls below a predetermined point.

4. The herein-described steam-tra comprising a shell or casing having an out et-passage, and adapted to be connected with the .steam or water space of a vessel or chamber to be relieved, and with an exhauster; a motor shell or casing R carried by the valve shell or casing and provided with movable wall Q exposed on one side to the atmosphere; tube O connected with said wall, passing into the valve shell or casing, and provided with a valve-plugiv and passa e j; expansible rod T mounted within tube and adapted to seal and unseal the passage j; and sprin Y, serving to press downward the movab e Wall Q and the parts carried thereby.

5. ln combination with a chamber or vessel adapted to contain heated pressure fluid; a valve shelly or casing connected with said chamber or vessel and provided with an outlet having a valve-seat; a valve controlling said outlet; a motor-chamber fixed in relation to the valve shell or casing and provided with a movable wall exposed on one face to the atmosphere; a tube connecting said movable wall wi' h the valve-plug and forming a passage of communication between the motor-chamber and the space below the. valveseat; a suction apparatus connected with the outlet of the valve shell or casing and ada 'ted to draw air from the motor-cham er through the tube connecting Ythe valve-plug and the movable wall; and a rod or bar contained within, and of relatively greater expansibilty than, the tube, adapted and arranged to close the passage through said tube upon an increase of tem erature beyond a predetermined point, an to o Aen said passage when the temperature fa ls below said point.

6. prising valve shell or casing K; valvelug i; tube 0, provided with cap-piece P, aving passage j; rod T mounted withinthe tube O; flexible disk or diaphragm Q having one face exposed to the atmosphere shell creasing R, rovided with air-in et g; and spring Y, all substantially as described and shown.

The herein-described vsteam-trap com- IIO meer@ 7, In combination with valve shell or casing K, and valve-plug i; shell or casing R provided with movable Wall Q, having one face exposed to the atmosphere, and with an air-inlet g; a stem connecting said Wall With the valve-plug i; spring Y bearing upon Wall a ipe or tubular connection extending om t e space Within the chamber R, to a point below the valve-plug; and a thermostatic device serving to close and open said connection, as the temperature rises and falls.

8. In a steam-trap ot' the character described, the combination of a valve-easing and valve; a fluid-pressure motor for actuating said valve, comprising a hollow shell or f chamber R and a movable Wall or member for said chamber, connected with said valv'e; means for normally pressing said valve toward. its seat; means for exhausting the air from the motor-chamber'to cause the pressure of the atmosphere on the exposed face of the movable Wall or member to move the valve in opposition to the closing devices; and an air -inlet opening into the motorchamber and provided with a regulatingvalve, whereby air is permitted constantly to enter said motor-chamber, but is prevented l r l l from destroying the action of the suction device therein.

9. The herein-described steam-trap, com prising a valve shell or casing having an outsix-opening provided With a valve-seat; a valve-plug to close said outlet; a yoke or frame supported by the casing; a shell or chamber supported by the yoke or frame, a flexible disk or sheet forming one Wall of said chamber; a neck or extension rising from said chamber; aeap applied to said neck and provided With an air-inlet a valve for regulating the capacity of said inlet; a s` ring contained within the neck; an adjustib e abutment for said spring; a tube connecting the diaphragm or movable Wall and the valve-plug; and anexpansible rod mounted within said tube and adapted by its expansion and contraction to close and Tto open the passage through said tube, all substantially as set forth,

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses,

WARREN S. JGHNSON.

Nitnessesr ADELINE A. JoHNsoN, I,CLIFFORD A. l'ioEW. 

